


the storm is on our heels

by impossible_year



Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29277909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impossible_year/pseuds/impossible_year
Summary: "It’s weird, normally I’d be exhausted by this time.” Brian looked at Pat with a fond, yet mildly amused, expression on his face. “It’s probably because you’re here.”At this, Pat raised his eyebrows in a light hearted teasing way and smiled. “You think so?”Brian shrugged casually, meeting Pat’s gaze and matching the intensity. “Well, it’s either that or the copious amounts of coffee that I’ve drank throughout the day. I’d like to think that it’s you though.”-what happens when two good friends are stuck in an apartment together during a snow storm
Relationships: Brian David Gilbert/Patrick Gill
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	the storm is on our heels

It was nearing six o’clock on a Thursday night, and Polygon employees had already begun to clear the office. Very few people were still inside, two of them being Pat and Brian. The only reason Pat hadn’t left yet was because of the fact that he was very unaware of what time it was. As far as he was concerned, he still had a few hours left of work. It wasn’t until Brian had appeared by his side, eyes shifting from Pat to Pat’s screen, unspeaking, that Pat had realized that it was getting late. Once Brian had processed that Pat had noticed his presence, he perked up. 

“Whatcha working on over there, Pat Gill?” Brian’s tone was slightly teasing, knowing that Pat was unaware of the fact that it was getting late. As Pat came to realize how late it was getting, he shifted awkwardly in his chair and turned to face Brian. He didn’t mean to be here for too long, but here he was regardless. 

“Oh, uh, I’m just finishing a script, so hopefully I can film some stuff next week.” Listening while Pat explained his upcoming project, Brian’s eyes scanned over the words on the screen. It was clear that the gears were turning in his head. Realizing he hadn’t actually responded to Pat, Brian laughed softly, albeit awkwardly, to himself. 

“Sorry, sorry, kinda got focused on what you’re doing. Reminded me of why I’m here though, other than to let you know that we can leave now of course.” Brian paused for a second, thinking carefully about what he was going to say next. Pat politely let him think, turning back to save his work and shut down his computer. “Do you wanna come over tonight? I’m sort of struggling with ideas for the next Unraveled, and you’ve always been the best when it comes to this type of thing.” While taking the time to consider this offer, Pat studied Brian deliberately. 

Brian was smiling brightly and had sounded confident when asking this question, but it wasn’t hard for Pat to tell that there was a kind of nervous energy about him. Brian shifted his weight from one foot to the other and adjusted the bag which was slung on his shoulders multiple times. The fact that there was any sort of nervous energy confused Pat, seeing as he couldn’t pin any reason for Brian to be nervous at this moment. He looked Brian up and down briefly just one last time before giving him an answer. 

“Won’t your roommates be home? I mean, I don’t have any plans tonight so I have no problem with coming over, but I just don’t want to be a bother to your roommates, you know?” Pat had met Laura and Jonah a few times, but they were acquaintances at best. Though he didn’t say it out loud out of fear of sounding rude, Pat felt as though his work wouldn’t be the best that it could be if he was around people that he wasn’t exactly confident around. He always strived for the best quality of work, and that was even more true when it came to working with Brian on not just Unraveled, but any project. 

“Actually, they’re both gone for tonight,” Brian explained, brushing some stray hairs out of his face. “So that’s why I felt like tonight was a good time to ask for your help.” If Pat wasn’t already more than willing to help out, Brian’s boyish grin would have almost certainly pushed Pat to agree to this. 

“Well then,” Pat hoisted his own bag onto his shoulder as he stood, “we should get going before it’s too late.” Brian’s face lit up, and Pat could tell that his mind was already going a hundred miles a minute with different ideas. 

The ride to Brian’s apartment wasn’t particularly eventful, only consisting of polite small talk until it eventually turned into pitching ideas for videos to each other. There was something about seeing Brian toss around absurd ideas with the utmost confidence that made Pat feel warm inside. He was proud of how far Brian had come during his time at Polygon, and admired his level of creativity, but there was also something else about it. Seeing Brian wildly gesture to explain his point, barely containing his laughter during some of his more ridiculous concepts, and overall just being himself, felt special to Pat. He felt as though he was seeing something powerful, something that he wasn’t quite worthy of seeing. This was something that Pat would never say out loud, of course. Instead, he threw back ideas where he could and ran along with all of the jokes Brian made. 

When they got off the subway, Brian led Pat through the snowfall for the rest of the way to his apartment. It wasn’t a terrible walk, but Pat was quiet for a majority of the walk. He was thinking about how Brian looked on the subway, all bright eyed and laughing, and how he wished he could experience that again. Instead they would be spending their night working on video ideas, which didn’t sound all that bad if it was going to be anything like the subway. 

The apartment was empty and quiet when they arrived. This wasn’t a surprise to Pat, but it was a relief nonetheless. With a glance at the man beside him, he saw determination and excitement on Brian’s face. It was going to be a productive night, Pat was sure of it. 

Helping Brian come up with ideas for the next Unraveled was, to no one's surprise, a good time. One could even say that it was a great time. As soon as they had gotten into Brian’s apartment and had gotten organized for the evening, Pat could practically feel all of Brian’s earlier nerves melt away. At some point in the evening, they had forgotten about working on Unraveled, had gotten off of the topic of work entirely, and now they were talking about the weekend and holiday plans. Neither of them had checked their phones in hours, they were busy laughing and having a good time together, something that they hadn’t had much time to do as of late. It was a nice change of pace for the both of them. 

“I’ll be right back,” Brian said, standing and stretching. “Just going to the washroom quickly.” Pat nodded and swallowed a sip of beer. 

“Sounds good.” As Brian left him alone, Pat picked up his phone. The first thing he noticed was the time; it was already much later than he had intended to stay out. That wasn’t too much of a problem though, he would just need an additional coffee tomorrow. So long as Brian didn’t mind the fact that he had stayed longer than planned. Pat really hoped that Brian didn’t mind. Before the worries could get to him, he moved on. The next thing he noticed was more than a few texts from multiple people, the most recent texts being from Simone twenty minutes ago. 

< ‘Hey did you get home ok? The storm is getting bad’  
< ‘Pat??’  
< ‘I’m gonna assume you got home safe and your power went out or something, lots of people say they already lost power’

What was once a warm and light feeling in Pat’s chest quickly became cold and heavy. He was unaware of the weather conditions outside, so this was news to him. When he and Brian had left the offices, the snow was falling at nothing more than a moderate pace; no one could have predicted that the weather would get worse. Pat then remembered that he should probably reply to Simone. 

‘Hey sorry I didn’t reply sooner, I’m at Brian’s place now' >

Pat didn’t expect a quick response, but that’s what he got. 

< ‘Oooh Brian’s place huh?’

He sighed, and looked over his shoulder to see if Brian would be coming back within the next minute. It didn’t seem that way. 

‘Simone please, not like that. This is just for work stuff’ >

< ‘I’m just saying Pat. We’re in the middle of a huge storm, you probably shouldn’t leave. I personally think brian and his roommates would love your company tonight’

Pat knew what he was about to say was dangerous; he knew Simone would have a lot to say about what he was about to respond with. He typed it regardless of this. 

‘Actually, both of his roommates are out tonight. Just us’ >

The three typing dots popped up. Then they vanished. Then they popped up again. 

< ‘Patrick Gill you’re alone with your work crush in his apartment during a snowstorm, this is every terrible hallmark movie set up. Not saying that you have to do something about it but I am saying the odds are in your favour’

Heat began to rise on the back of Pat’s neck. Part of him regretted telling Simone about how he felt about Brian; the other part of him was glad he told her so that he would have someone who could... could what? Talk some sense into him? Get him to think logically about his feelings? Convince him that now would be a good time to confess his feelings to Brian? Regardless of the specifics, Pat was grateful for Simone. From not too far away, he could hear Brian walking back, so he typed out one last quick text for Simone. 

‘I’ll think about it, thanks though. He’s on his way back. I’ll text you later’ >

< ‘Good luck ;)’ 

Pat rolled his eyes and turned his phone upside down on the table right as Brian turned the corner and came into view. 

“What’s up? Did I miss anything important?” He asked while sitting down. Brian’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, and Pat nearly forgot his conversation with Simone. Nearly, but not quite. Brian sat down across from Pat, not breaking eye contact as he moved. 

“I know you’re probably expecting no as an answer but uh...” Pat trailed off, letting his gaze fall from Brian’s eyes down to his smile, and further down to his hands, fingers pushing at his knuckles in what Pat assumed was a half hearted attempt to crack them.

“But...?” 

“But I think you’re stuck with me for a bit longer,” Pat explained, pushing his hair back and not making direct eye contact. “Everyone is saying that the snow is too heavy for anyone to get anywhere safely right now.” 

Brian nodded slowly, clearly thinking hard about this. 

“Well,” he began slowly, after a brief moment of thinking. “I’ll grab some stuff out of my room later and then you can take the bed for the night.” Before he could continue, Pat stopped him. 

“Wait no, I don’t... you don’t need to do that. I’m fine on a couch for one night.” Brian laughed politely at this, leaning forwards in his seat. 

“You are the guest here, Pat Gill. You shouldn’t have to sleep on our honestly kinda shitty couch. You deserve the slightly less shitty bed.” 

Both men were laughing now, and it felt good for Pat to just laugh with Brian at the ridiculous things and even just the mundane things. 

“We can figure it out later if you want. I’m not really tired,” Pat suggested, copying Brian’s position and leaning forwards in his own seat. 

“Yeah, neither am I. It’s weird, normally I’d be exhausted by this time.” Brian looked at Pat with a fond, yet mildly amused, expression on his face. “It’s probably because you’re here.” 

At this, Pat raised his eyebrows in a light hearted teasing way, and smiled. “You think so?” 

Brian shrugged casually, meeting Pat’s gaze and matching the intensity. “Well, it’s either that or the copious amounts of coffee that I’ve drank throughout the day. I’d like to think that it’s you though.” 

Pat hummed while thinking about this, trying desperately to ignore the heat in his face and the butterfly type feeling in his chest. “I- well, I guess I could say the same about you. I mean, how else do you think I manage to stay awake for all of our streams?” At this comment, Brian threw his head back and laughed heartily. 

“Oh wow, Pat, I love the sentiment, and I would love to believe that, but I have seen first hand how much coffee you drink!” 

“Guilty as charged, but you’re still a big part of the reason why I don’t crash beforehand.”

As their laughs slowed down into tired chuckles, Pat realized how little work they had gotten done throughout the evening, and how little that seemed to bother Brian. Brian seemed to realize this at almost the exact same time, as he stood up almost abruptly before either of them could mention it. 

“I’m gonna get some water,” he called out while walking into the kitchen. “Do you want anything?” Pat didn’t realize that Brian had asked him a question, he was lost in other thoughts, until Brian was trying to get his attention again. “Pat? Do you want anything?” 

“Oh, uh, no thank you.” While Brian was still in the kitchen, Pat took the moment to take in everything around him; he especially took note of how familiar this particular moment felt. It was almost comforting for Pat to have this sense of familiarity, this sense of what almost felt to him like domesticity. Even if being stuck in an apartment during a storm was unlike most situations which he found himself in with Brian, it still had a secure feel that he had grown used to feeling while being with him. It was the combination of being able to laugh, joke, and to just be himself around with someone he trusted wholeheartedly, while also being comfortable just sitting in silence with him that made this all feel a bit strange but not uncomfortable. It felt right. 

“Okay,” Brian chirped, and returned with a glass of water. A nervous energy filled the room as soon as Brian sat down, an energy similar to the one that Pat had felt back in the office, neither man knew where to go conversation wise. Pat rubbed his fingers over his knuckles and watched as Brian’s leg bounced vigorously, thinking about bringing up the Unraveled ideas they were working on not too long ago. He thought about maybe directly addressing the small but noticeable change in Brian’s attitude. 

“So, I was wondering-”

“I was thinking-”

Pat and Brian stared at each other in silence until they broke into laughter. 

“Sorry, sorry, go ahead,” Pat said as the laughs died down. Brian took a slow sip of water, seemingly still collecting himself. 

“Oh gosh, okay, sorry about that. So I was gonna say... ah nope, forgot what I was gonna ask! Whoops!” He snapped his fingers for emphasis. Pat didn’t believe that Brian would have forgotten what he was gonna ask so quickly, but he didn’t press on the matter. “Anyway, what were you gonna say?”

As Brian’s attention came to be entirely on Pat, Pat grew hesitant. Maybe bringing up how little work they had done wasn’t that important, they could always catch up tomorrow or even the next day if they had to. Despite his doubts and sudden nerves, he brought up what was on his mind. 

“Ah, I was just gonna point out that we haven’t really gotten a lot done for work tonight.” Brian watched Pat silently, clearly thinking about this but Pat could also tell that he was waiting for him to continue. “And that seems to be strangely fine by you. I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but usually when we say we’re gonna spend some extra time on work, it’s all you can focus on until we’re done. So, well, I guess I’m just trying to ask, is everything alright?” 

Brian shrugged casually, chuckling lightly, but his eyes fell from Pat’s gaze down to his own lap. It wasn’t hard for anyone to tell that there was something on his mind, something that he desperately wanted to say but couldn’t find the words for, and Pat was curious but was resisting the temptation to push at it. This was the second time this evening that Pat had noticed that something seemed to be nagging at Brian’s mind, how many times had he not caught him fighting back the urge to say something? It was unlike Brian to hold back when something came to mind, and Pat didn’t want to seem rude or pushy but he was just a bit worried. 

“Guess I’m just feeling a bit tired! It’s been a long week and my motivation just isn’t as strong as I’d like it to be. You know how it is, right?”

Pat nodded twice; he knew that feeling all too well but still felt as though that wasn’t the entire reason for Brian seeming off. Silence fell over the apartment, but it didn’t last long. 

“Do you want to go out for drinks after work sometime?” Brian asked, and then there was a drawn out pause. “Maybe next week?” Another pause, shorter this time. “As a date. Just to clarify.” 

Brian was a good actor, Pat would even go so far as to say that he was a fantastic actor, but not even he could hide his nerves in this situation. The inside of Brian’s lips were turning bright red from nervous biting. He pushed at his cuticles, and Pat noticed as chips of nail polish fell to the floor. It wasn’t until Brian opened his mouth to speak again that Pat realized he hadn’t answered yet. 

“I... yeah! Yeah, I would love to,” Pat said, and couldn’t hide his smile when he saw Brian’s face light up. 

“That’s actually the reason I invited you over tonight,” Brian explained sheepishly, now seeming significantly more relaxed. It was as if someone had just released a tightly wound spring. “I knew Jo and Laura would be gone tonight and so I thought that now would be a good time to ask, but then you said that the storm was too bad for anyone to go anywhere for the rest of the night. Then I panicked about asking, because if you’re stuck here for the night then I didn’t want to make anything awkward if you said no. It wasn’t until maybe ten minutes ago that I decided that it would be fine, we’re both adults, if you said no then it wouldn’t be a huge deal.” 

Pat nodded along as Brian told him his whole thought process behind asking him out, but his face fell when Brian had finished talking. His eyebrows furrowed and he brought a hand to his forehead. 

“Pat? Are you... is everything okay?” 

“I owe Simone ten dollars now,” he groaned, suddenly remembering a stupid bet they had made weeks ago. “She was saying something about how you would probably ask me out before I had the chance, and I told her that I would ask you out first, so naturally we made a bet out of it. I can’t believe I owe her ten bucks now!” 

Brian laughed through Pat’s explanation, and leaned back on the couch while looking up at the ceiling before looking back at Pat. “We should call out of work tomorrow, say we’re working from home because of the weather,” he suggested after he had caught his breath and it had become quiet again. 

“Brian,” Pat began, unsure as to whether or not that was a good idea. 

“Technically it wouldn’t be a lie! I doubt it’ll be clear enough by tomorrow morning,” he insisted, his smile nothing short of convincing. 

With a long, unnecessarily drawn out sigh, Pat feigned a tired expression. “This might just have to wait until tomorrow.” It was hard for him to hide his smile now, Pat was thinking only about the fact that he would get to wake up with Brian tomorrow morning. It was a cheesy thought, sure, but Pat wouldn’t deny the fact that it was nice to think about it. Brian must’ve been thinking the same thing, Pat concluded, when he saw a soft, fond smile similar to his own. 

“Yeah, tomorrow. That sounds good.” Brian’s tone was gentle and relaxed, a big change in contrast to how nervous yet energetic he had been all evening, and Pat huffed out a soft laugh. 

“But until then?” Pat watched as Brian’s eyes lit up mischievously. 

“Until then, I think it’s time for me to kick your ass at Smash Bros again!” 

“Loser takes the couch tonight?” Pat suggested, moving over closer to where Brian was sitting so that he could see the game better. 

“I mean I was gonna say that I have no problem with sharing the bed, but if you really wanna sleep on the couch...” Brian teased, breaking into laughter when Pat lightly elbowed him in the ribs. “Okay, okay! Let me get this set up first!” 

The circumstances weren’t ideal, of course neither of them had planned to get snowed in that night, but it had worked out alright in the end. Brian did end up winning the majority of rounds they played that night, and Pat was okay with that. Everything felt as though it was happening exactly as it should be.

**Author's Note:**

> title from Heaven Knows by The Hunts
> 
> this was really fun to write despite how long it took, and i hope that y'all had fun reading this! i'm considering writing another fic or so that takes place in the same universe/timeline/whatever you'd consider this, so keep your eyes on the horizon
> 
> i can't go without giving thanks to theo, who helped me with this fic from start to finish. without them, this probably would have never gotten done. they helped me with developing the idea, with making sure everyone seemed in character, and overall just being extremely supportive and wonderful throughout this! 
> 
> one last thing: i don't think i ever made it obvious when exactly this is set, so just picture them however you see fit because it won't really effect much


End file.
